David Koch steps away from conservative political empire

David Koch, a billionaire conservative megadonor who used his fortune to help reshape American politics, will step down from his company’s political and business activities amid health concerns, his brother announced Tuesday.

The announcement came in an internal company email sent to Koch Industries employees, which was obtained by multiple media outlets. Koch is the company’s executive vice president. His brother, Charles, cited health issues as one of the factors leading to Koch’s retirement.

“Unfortunately, these issues have not been resolved and his health has continued to deteriorate,” Charles said in the letter, which was obtained and reported by the Washington Post. “As a result, he is unable to be involved in business and other organizational activities.”

Koch, along with his brother, is two of the most prominent conservative megadonors in American politics. The brothers have helped bankroll candidates, think tanks and university research centers that generally support conservative and free-market ideologies.

The Koch brothers’ sprawling web of policy and political advocacy networks has spent millions influencing elections and policy decisions. Though the network scaled back its political spending in 2016 over differences with then-candidate Trump, it raised more than $400 million in 2012, and in 2017, Charles said those groups planned to spend between $300 and $400 million to shape politics ahead of the 2018 midterms, TIME reported.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian and conservative nonprofit founded by the brothers, has grown into one of the country’s most powerful political advocacy organizations. The group’s status as a nonprofit advocacy group — like nearly all of the other groups in the Koch network — allows it to shield its funding sources, which has drawn criticism from campaign finance watchdogs and transparency advocates. Koch will also resign from the board of directors of the charity connected to AFP, CNBC reported Tuesday.

Koch, 78, will step into the role of “director emeritus” of Koch Industries while Charles remains its chairman and chief executive, the Washington Post reported.

Jordan joined the Center for Responsive Politics as a summer reporting intern in May 2018. He’s a junior magazine journalism and political science dual major at Syracuse University, where he also works as news editor of the independent student newspaper, The Daily Orange. Jordan was born and raised in California before moving to the East Coast in 2016.

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